Chapter 58: Weakness Isn't What's Frightening — Cowardice Is
"Eh?"
"What about me?"
Naruto, watching the man who'd just appeared run through Sakura, Sasuke, and Karin one at a time, pointed at himself, genuinely curious.
"Hah. Interesting brat."
Orochimaru ran his slick tongue across his lips and looked over the four kids in front of him.
He could roughly guess Naruto's identity. On the same squad as the old man's youngest disciple, with the last Uchiha as a teammate, taught by Kakashi Hatake of all people. Blond hair. Blue eyes.
For Orochimaru, Naruto's identity was self-evident. He had done his homework before setting out.
"And so..."
"What brings you to a bunch of genin like us?"
"...Brother."
Sakura kept Karin behind her back. Her green eyes were locked on the... man? in front of her.
"Little girl. Quick on the uptake."
Orochimaru gave her an appreciative glance — and then produced an Earth scroll, and under the four kids' utterly disgusted stares, swallowed it whole.
"Come now. Let's have ourselves a scroll-collection battle."
He extended a hand toward the four kids, eyes full of provocation.
Sakura watched in silence.
If at all possible, she did not want the scroll her so-called "brother" had just swallowed. It would be covered in spit. Disgusting...
"Naruto. You —"
"QUIT POSING!"
Sakura was about to tell Naruto and Sasuke to take Karin and run. She didn't get to finish — a streak of orange came tearing toward Orochimaru!
Naruto started forming seals — but Orochimaru moved first, snatched Naruto's wrist, broke the seal sequence outright, and kicked the blond gremlin clear across the clearing!
Naruto came rocketing back as fast as he'd come in!
Shameless. Kage-class fighter against a genin, and on top of that interrupting the seal sequence...
Sakura's internal commentary was unimpressed.
"Naruto. You and Sasuke — take Karin and go."
"This one's mine."
She took a step forward and glanced back at Naruto, who was scraping himself off the ground.
Orochimaru wasn't a strength-type, he hadn't been remotely serious, and Naruto was made of rubber. The kick was nothing.
"What?"
"Sakura-chan, are you joking?!"
"You can't take him alone!"
Naruto pulled himself up, staring at her back in disbelief.
"Naruto. You heard what he just said, didn't you?"
"He said 'sensei's final disciple.' He and I are both disciples of the Third Hokage."
"This is one of the legendary Three Sannin. Orochimaru."
"A man whose strength rivals the Hokage's."
"He and I — are siblings under the same master."
Sakura pulled a pair of black gloves out of her tool pouch and, under Orochimaru's intrigued stare, pulled them on.
"...Strength rivaling... the Hokage?"
Sasuke, looking at this man whose coldness seemed to be carved into his bones, found his voice trembling.
"What?"
Even Naruto was shaking now.
"So. This is family business, Naruto. You and Sasuke take Karin and go."
Sakura kept her eyes on Orochimaru. She didn't turn around.
"Oh?"
"I had no idea this little sister I'd never met would even acknowledge me as her brother."
"But — letting your teammates slip out from under my nose? Do you, little sister, have what it takes?"
With that, Orochimaru's eyes sharpened, and his entire aura erupted.
In an instant, killing intent boundless as the open sea swept over the four of them.
This was the killing intent Orochimaru had honed once, fighting on the front lines of the Shinobi World War for Konoha.
This was also the killing intent of the man who had later twisted, gradually descended into madness, abandoned everything, and pursued only immortality.
"What... is this...?!"
Sasuke trembled in front of Orochimaru, his Sharingan involuntarily activating.
This is a true elite?
This is what someone equal to a Hokage feels like?!
Karin, the sensor of the group, understood more clearly than anyone how terrifying the chakra Orochimaru was radiating actually was. She had her arms wrapped tight around herself, her body shaking nonstop.
"D-damn it..."
Naruto's teeth were chattering. He glared back at the man, forced down the fear in his chest, and brought trembling hands together into a seal.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Pop. Pop. Pop.
But under that killing intent — which approached genjutsu in its effect — instead of the hundreds or thousands of clones that should have manifested, only three clones popped into existence.
"What it takes?"
Sakura, as if a thought had just occurred to her, broke into a small smile.
"Then let's see what you are made of, Brother."
What was Enhanced Strength?
Enhanced Strength was power.
What was power?
Power was explosive force.
She planted one foot — and the colossal force shattered the ground beneath her into rubble!
She launched at her notional brother like an arrow loosed from a bow!
Orochimaru's golden serpentine pupils contracted sharply at the sight!
Tsunade!
For a moment he saw a flicker of Tsunade in this little girl!
But Orochimaru had no time to dwell on it. Once part of Konoha's legendary trio alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya, he was intimately familiar with what Enhanced Strength did to its target!
A force without parallel slammed into him and sent him flying —
He was hit like a fully-loaded freight truck doing 140 km/h had T-boned him head-on. His body went tumbling backward like a sack of wet rags, snapping more than a dozen massive trees as he flew!
"What are you standing there for?! GO!"
She glanced back at the dumbstruck trio of Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin — and then immediately took off after Orochimaru.
Striking from preparation against an unprepared target — Orochimaru had taken her punch. But was Orochimaru ever going to be that easy to kill?
She had no expectation that the strike would deal lethal damage. The point was to force him to burn the chakra-expensive Orochimaru-style substitution.
"Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that technique could be developed to that degree."
When Sakura caught up, Orochimaru was already back on his feet, hawking blood-tinged spit onto the ground. The look in his eyes was no longer the casual amused appraisal from earlier.
He was looking at her as an opponent now.
She did a quick scan of the area and didn't see the snake-shed substitute she'd been hoping for. A flicker of disappointment.
"A pity. Weak as you are, you still chose to protect your teammates."
"If you'd run, you might have lived."
He brought his hands together in rapid seal sequence.
"Ninja Art: Ten Thousand Snake Formation!"
Sakura's response was immediate — she sliced open her forearm with her own kunai, blood welling, and her hands flew through their own seals.
"You're wrong!"
"Weakness isn't what's frightening — cowardice is!"
"And as it happens, I have neither!"
"Summoning Technique: Monkey King!"